51

Sipdown no. 52 of the year 2014. A sample; another of the Golden Moon teas that I couldn’t quite make up my mind about after the initial taste-through of the 31 tea sampler. I notice that Adham rated this very highly so I’m using his time and temp to steep instead of my original. 195 for 3:30.

I am probably very over-caffeinated at this point because I’ve been drinking black tea all morning, so I’m using this as a transition out of blacks (it has both black and green tea in it) for the day, but I wonder whether I’m so wired that something has gone wack-o with my smeller.

Sniffing the packet, my first thought was “lime sherbet?” My second was “bubblegum?” Which made me stop to think whether one of the flavors I taste in the flavor known as bubblegum is vanilla, because it certainly isn’t jasmine. But I think vanilla is part of that flavor? This wasn’t what I described smelling the first time around. The longer I sniff, the more I can differentiate the jasmine and the vanilla, of course. But a lot of other associations come along as well. Grape soda?

After steeping I get much more jasmine in the aroma than vanilla this time, though the associations continue. I mentioned crème soda last time, and I can see that, though I also get an impression of flavored fruit soda smell.

I am getting both vanilla and jasmine in the taste, more jasmine than vanilla like last time. The flavor is…. interesting. I like jasmine and I like vanilla, but together they don’t work together as well for me as they do separately. The aftertaste also leaves me with something of a Pepto Bismal association this time. Between that and the back of the throat grab from this mix that I mentioned the first time and that is happening on the second try as well, this is a pass for me. I’m bumping it down because I enjoyed it rather less than most things I’ve tasted in the past couple of weeks. Which is unfortunate because Golden Moon has so many other teas that I love to pieces.

Kirkoneill1988

i should try it sometime :D

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Kirkoneill1988

i should try it sometime :D

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I got obsessed with tea in 2010 for a while, then other things intruded, then I cycled back to it. I seem to be continuing that in for a while, out for a while cycle. I have a short attention span, but no shortage of tea.

I’m a mom, writer, gamer, lawyer, reader, runner, traveler, and enjoyer of life, literature, art, music, thought and kindness, in no particular order. I write fantasy and science fiction under the name J. J. Roth.

Personal biases: I drink tea without additives. If a tea needs milk or sugar to improve its flavor, its unlikely I’ll rate it high. The exception is chai, which I drink with milk/sugar or substitute. Rooibos and honeybush were my gateway drugs, but as my tastes developed they became less appealing — I still enjoy nicely done blends. I do not mix well with tulsi or yerba mate, and savory teas are more often a miss than a hit with me. I used to hate hibiscus, but I’ve turned that corner. Licorice, not so much.

Since I find others’ rating legends helpful, I added my own. But I don’t really find myself hating most things I try.

I try to rate teas in relation to others of the same type, for example, Earl Greys against other Earl Greys. But if a tea rates very high with me, it’s a stand out against all other teas I’ve tried.

95-100 A once in a lifetime experience; the best there is

90-94 Excellent; first rate; top notch; really terrific; will definitely buy more

80-89 Very good; will likely buy more

70-79 Good; would enjoy again, might buy again

60-69 Okay; wouldn’t pass up if offered, but likely won’t buy again

Below 60 Meh, so-so, iffy, or ick. The lower the number, the closer to ick.

I don’t swap. It’s nothing personal, it’s just that I have way more tea than any one person needs and am not lacking for new things to try. Also, I have way too much going on already in daily life and the additional commitment to get packages to people adds to my already high stress level. (Maybe it shouldn’t, but it does.)

That said, I enjoy reading folks’ notes, talking about what I drink, and getting to “know” people virtually here on Steepster so I can get ideas of other things I might want to try if I can ever again justify buying more tea. I also like keeping track of what I drink and what I thought about it.

My current process for tea note generation is described in my note on this tea: https://steepster.com/teas/mariage-freres/6990-the-des-impressionnistes

Location

Bay Area, California

Website

http://www.jjroth.net

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